Friday, November 30, 2012

I didn’t drop
dead at work today or collapse as a result of being a slave of some sort
to my employers which is fantastic because I can now buy a floral crown
to go with my twenty something potential junky crowns and also buy
cardiovascular tights because I’m worth it according to every cosmetic
commercial ever made. It unfortunately leaves me as a sad little husk of
a girl pretty exhausted after so many tedious hours and without many
interesting things to write about other than the fact I have a sadistic
side. Also it seems people naturally exaggerate stories which is a
little discouraging but at least images and photographs are subjective
and you can always refer to an image to remember the way things were
exactly. On that note, tomorrow if my hair behaves I have at least two
outfits planed which I’m sort of looking forward to as well as carefully
planning more purchases and second hand shopping sometime this week-
with four potential stops in mind. If I can’t continue blogging the same
way I enjoy I’ll need to fill the rest of my day with something
interesting and entertaining for the next couple of weeks and before
volunteer-run shops close up for the holiday season.

I do complain
about working a lot without studies on my plate but don’t get me wrong, I
love having that small aspect of life in which I am self-sufficient and
able to take charge of a situation and I also did a little driving
practice to I’m getting close to my license too. Strong women can look
like anything but are instead defined by what they can do and their
mindset these days and that’s pretty cool because red rose diadems and
matching sweaters look pretty sweet but so do magical sparkly shoes. The
field is wide open in the twenty-first century thanks to feminine
forefathers (or rather, foremothers) for doing the hard yards and
winning battles for equal rights. The least we can do is pick up where
they left off and continue for equality across the nation and
particularly in impoverish nations where girls aren’t even allowed to
attend school and educate themselves. Or we can fight the fight from
school bathrooms with cigarettes and rebel against our teachers too-
that could work but I can already sense some angry letters home if your
battleground is the ladies room and your bayonet is a smoke. Be smart
when you pick your battles and their sites- also the tools you choose to
use.

Sometimes life
gets lonely and everyone you thought you could depend on abandons you;
luckily there’s the lonely woman’s perfect companion the cat. Having not
personally had a cat myself though I can’t recommend them, although one
of my friends from university did say a cat of hers knocked over a
spare door which then broke a ceramic pot crafted by her sister from
school but other than that it’s been comical anecdotes. It might be nice
having a little ball of fur curled up at my feet every morning as well
as a free-thinking spirit to stalk around the place when I feel a bit
spooked myself but I’ve already failed once convincing my boyfriend that
a cat was his spirit animal since they had the same name and I don’t
think I’m ready to try again just yet… I can live with admiring pretty
pictures of kitties and also having many feline related items on my wish
list for Etsy to tide me over until my next great wave of cat fuelled
angst starts up.

It’s funny how
times change isn’t it? (I mainly say that because I’ve finished reading a
book dithering between 1941 and 1996) The dress worn above might have
been a previous nightgown or slip worn as lingerie but here it is hiding
all of this young ladies modesty. Also there would be some narrow
minded people within the last century totally aghast at the thought of
blue hair and unfortunately my father still keeps the same mentality,
but that’s probably why some celestial being/ cross dresser thought to
invent wigs which are these magical things that almost let you become
another person. Maybe it was that Q guy from James Bond movies- he was a
gentleman of the spying world if there ever was one unlike 007 himself
who happened to break a lot of hearts and needs a good lesson in
chivalry.

The Amazon
warriors are known for being rough and tumble, muscular and fearsome,
but I can tell you one thing that is equally fearsome in today’s society
regarding women: sisterhood. That’s just about the only thing I miss
about going to high school; the days when we would stalk around for ten
minutes finding the perfect hidey hole to sit in a circle and chat for
the entirety of lunch break or in our senior years, nick off in a car to
the supermarket and come back with a tub of ice cream on hot days and
special occasions. While it’s true I was stressed out and bent out of
shape on examination results looming overhead like German bombers in
London, my friends made it so much more bearable and the memories we
forged together obviously mean a lot to me now. I’m not going to have
anything quite so cosy and homely within an environment outside my own
personal life and I’ve come to really cherish and relish in the
favorable bits of the best year of my life. It’s all sad that it’s over
but I can recreate that for myself by reading Harry Potter books; isn’t
that right Luna? She agrees too- and so do the Nargels.

I've
been hearing a lot about the Virgin Suicides from Tavi Gevinson
interviews and although I haven't read the book or watched the movie I
feel like I know enough about it to make some gentle assumptions
starting with a pristine white shirt and some cross necklaces. They
seemed a fitting start to get into character as it were, but I also
wanted to try and imitate someone I see on the bus famous to me for
wearing purple and red. I would have been abhorred in a big-time office
if it were pitched to me by over-excited and energetic advertisers but
it works crazy well. This shirt is long-sleeved but it's also a thin
material so well-suited for this purgatorial tran-season weather I'm
stuck in at the moment.

Also praying with
dripping red paint on my nails takes me back to that famous scene in
Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet in the crypt; ah memories spent in Year 9
English class. The red fleece cape reminds me a little too much of the
Volturi vampire police from Twilight which matched my dripping blood red
manicure but it also let me escape the Little Red Riding Hood imagery
that so often blazes in front of me when I do wear this showy clothing
article. The red also clashed nicely with the yellow and purple print
on the skirt which is certainly my best find when second hand shopping so
far. Plaid is so character building in an Enid Coleslaw/ Daria
Morgendorffer kind of way/the uniform of the outcast girl trying to fit
in at high school. I left just over a year ago and I still wear that
hang-dog look so well.

Did I mention I
love how contradictory my necklaces were today? It was fantastic. My
best friend volunteered to buy this for me as a late nineteenth birthday
present and it's basically been the best thing about turning nineteen
and getting a step closer to leaving the sacred domain of teenager-dome.
It makes me wish my blog was a little more well known, just to spark
some controversy amongst a religious community and then inform them I'm
reading a fictional book where the main protagonists are a demon and an
angel. There are also modern analogues of the four horsemen, the
anti-Christ and a witch. It's a bloody fantastic read: my father always
has the best taste in funny books. The point of my almost raising a riot
though is to engage in enlightening conversations about God through
fashion.

What would the purple plaid
skirt be without my faithful Wowch leggings of angsty black and white
cats on each knees and sparkly, glittery grey Vivienne Westwood
boots? Probably looking like a sorry kilt if it weren't so long, but that just gives it the potential to become ragged and wretched the more I wear it. I suppose the weather was pretty bad today and enough to make my
reach for the most petite pair of gumboots I've ever seen but I like how
it doesn't match anything else and sits awkwardly amongst the rest of
the outfit. Dr Martens just seemed a little bit too obvious and since I
wear them practically all the time I thought that they might want a
holiday or something from hauling around my stinky feet. Also the grey and potentially heavy rain clouds made me listen to the rainy day themed play list from Rookie Mag and it did managed to cheer me up. Like John Keats, I like to fully immerse myself in the feeling of melancholy and enjoy the experience but I daresay he didn't dress up and take photographs to reflect his feelings.

I've worn this
shirt to at least one exam this year because I admire the disgruntled
stare of the illustrated girl, her bridal veil complete with flowers but
the minimalist slogan of "I'm serious" underneath in a small font. What
am I serious about you ask? I was serious about looking after my
rabbits, but I haven't had any for quite a while now so I guess I am
serious about trying to fashion blog as best I can- even if that means I
need to clean my room at one point or another and cull my wardrobe
periodically to make way for bigger and better things. I am still
serious about rabbits and planning to get some when I move out of my
parent's house though- if at all feasible.

My hair is just
one huge comb over at the moment- yeah what of it? I did have a front
fringe from about the age of three until fifteen so this long extension
of hair at the top of my forehead can often sit awkwardly a lot of the
time or clings to my face when there's sweat involved but at the moment
it's just sitting there chilling like me at the moment. Maybe that's why hands were invented to detract attention away from messy lion mane's of hair that I promise I brushed before I took these; it unfortunately is a free-thinking radial and has idea all its own. I encourage that kind of rebellion in all humans but find it annoying when trying to pick up stroppy rabbits that think they're so tough when really they're sweet and sugary balls of fuzz hopping about and hair which should be without surprises when I wake up in the mornings.

Because the
Blogger limit of photo uploads is killing me, I am in a weird and
mysterious occult mood that is best matched with long chained necklaces,
smelly candles, and colourful crosses I can only assume are nestled in
the heart of Mexico close to the Day of the Dead ceremony. At my
creative peak of course there is some sort of obstacle in my way
obstructing my creativity but perhaps this is the perfect time to read
widely of all the lovely new blogs I’ve followed and begin more
compositions and drawings. It’s either that, or I actually consider
cleaning my room a little more which is difficult without a cardboard
box to throw everything that’s currently listed on eBay. I’m all-fearing
when it comes to the rare instance I do sell something and I can’t find
it in the mess of a home I’ve made more akin to a web since I’m so
easily tangled in it all the time. But enough with the metaphors- here’s
some images which were blasts from the past or at least look like
uphold the old. There’s some Winona Ryder just because she’s looking
fabulous and sassy, illustrations which I did not perpetrate and
everything sourced from my Tumblr dashboard (as always).

I went to
Disneyland two years ago so that now feels like an eternity ago when I
was still choosing which university to study at but I’m really sad I
don’t own any black lace dresses to wear with it. It may be crudely
pinned under the broad banner of Goth were it not for such a sweet
symbolism of every child’s dream and favourite movie worn as a hat. Now I
want a good romp around the local second hand shops for a thrifting
session but it’s best done alone and I don’t have any other errands to
run while I’m out so I can’t yet justify the bus fare… oh barf. Some
time next week I’ll go to the bank, send off what I hope will be many
goods through the mail, visit the tiniest library it’s ever been my
misfortune to enter and probably run around to four second hand shops.
Until then I think it’s music/ reading time and waiting for the image
limit on Blogger to reset. I’ve gotten so desperate I’ve finished off
all my old drafts. It’s getting rather serious and dire now…

I’m sure at some
stage or another I would have loved to have a vintage phone exactly like
this, probably sparked from one of my visits to my grandmother’s house
but that dream died a long time ago when everyone was thirteen and
obsessed with having a good phone as a sign of social status. Here I am,
six years later and using a phone with a $19 monthly plan that my
mother pays for. It’s as much an embarrassment on my part as it is a
crime but I can’t decide which model of the iPhone I get but I already
have several possible phone cases to choose from on Etsy. My poor
boyfriend has already heard me voice me frustration and fears on my
inability to choose but I think it went straight over his head. While I
don’t think it would spark any great change in my habits of socialising
(unless I get international text and begin communicating with all my
lovely followers) there is always the handy chance of getting free text/
calls or whatever on some of the better networks but I don’t know just
how much I want to spend. Bleh- first world problems.

Finally I was a
little distressed to learn Anne Hathaway is dieting in order to look
purposely thin and dishevelled for her newest movie when here above is a
healthier version of herself in what was my generation’s favourite teen
movie: The Princess Diaries. Looking back on this simple image I see so
much of what was great; Lily is holding a small beaver backpack and is
not caring, Michael has a haircut so similar to that of the Beatles in
general it makes me want to cry and the quotes from the movie were just
so great. I wanted that close female bond between Mia and Lily in which
charms for charm bracelets were acquired and the other would be forced
to volunteer for movie projects/ public access television and yeah I
loved the genuine nature of the characters created in this little
universe. Also plastic choker necklaces and hair weaves- Lily you are
now my hero of the franchise because you are sassy and uncompromising.

As much as it
pains me to say it (and much to the displeasure of my mother) I have to
admit that New Zealand designers are so much better than Australians;
Stolen Girlfriends exemplifies a gritty edginess in this humble runway
more akin to a well lit basement and a row of endless green liquor
bottles in the hand of every attendee. But I love this grunge home
ground of the collection; it transforms the floral patterned shirts and
brightly coloured motifs to a whole other dimension. Also might I say
the male models for this are a lot, a lot cuter than the ones I saw at
Melbourne Fashion week at the start of this year but then again I’ll say
that about just about any guy wearing Dr Martens boots and a cute
haircut. Also- having a collection made so close to my own country the
collection balances different pieces such as light weight anoraks which
may still be relevant even during Summer. There’s a practical undertone
about these pieces but the design is simply fantastic and wild. This is
the very reason I have been in love with this label for four years now,
ever since I got into fashion and I don’t see this beautiful
relationship ending anytime soon.

Pressing forward
the collection came to life in a stark white but underdone setting and I
really enjoyed the menswear collection as well. If I don’t quite make
it to the Big Day Out and get my hand on some fantastic athletic themed
merchandise then I’ll be picking up that basketball singlet and wearing
it every time I’m in the stadium (I work as a basketball referee…) when
I’m off duty and scoring hopefully as a favour to my boyfriend “coming
out of retirement”. Put mildly, the singlet gives me Goosebumps and I
love it so much- it makes me want to wear slime green pants with black
buckle cyberpunk boots and awkward pastel lipstick. While it’s true I
have my own basketball singlet that I wore to death between the ages of
ten and sixteen, it’s still just a bit too local and not offensive
enough to put some young ones into shock. I could always sweetly argue
that the W.T.F stands for the Wisconsin Tourism Federation but it’s been
far too long since I’ve watched or listened to American interviews to
pull off a convincing accent. Sneering is probably the best response
when questioned about fashion and then hastily running off. Maybe the
best…

Now ladies and
gentlemen, the statement motif of the season: If you thought the
Givenchy panther and orchid combination was groundbreaking, then you
haven’t seen anything yet because at the centre of that t-shirt is a
flamingo being strangled by a tree python and illuminated from behind by
lightning. It’s all very punk rock and could easily belong to my
brother’s collection of band t-shirts but there’s a more aesthetic
purpose to this design then advertising a musical group. Also- it’s not
often you see a design take up the entirety of a t-shirt and fully
utilise that wide expanse of black cotton so it’s a breath of fresh air
to see some sense in the Stolen Girlfriends Club design. Since grade
school we were told to tie our jumpers around our waists so that we
wouldn’t loose them in amongst all the hype of running around and
swinging on monkey bars, but I love the addition of the mustard orange
jumper around the waist. It combines three colours I was dying to bring
together the other day; orange, pink and green in a tropical coloured
fanfare which looks even more striking on a lumbering, tall male model
dressed mainly in black.

At the moment I’m
looking for the perfect leather jacket to act as a blank canvas of
motorcycle gang goodness which will then allow me to buy a feminist
floral banner patch from Etsy with the simple bold word “clitoris”
written on it. While this peplum vest is certainly a little more
structured and feminine then I had allowed to fit in my criteria there’s
still a gorgeous thread of what I’m looking for in the wide lapel for
brooches, chunky silver zipper and it would make for a great overcoat
for vintage knitted sweaters… I don’t know I just consider it offensive
when leather is worn with buttons because it’s not tough and ugh it’s a
waist of perfectly good leather. This though has potential and I’m
beginning to appreciate the vast dimensions of opportunity that patterns
can textures can slip through those leather armholes. If I weren’t so
thoroughly satisfied by a big bowl of vegetarian noodles I would be
salivating over romanticising over the leather vest. Peplums are also
all the rage at the moment so it’s a nice relevant touch to the end of
yet another busy year for blogging.

I’m no smoking
red head ready to recreate a pin-up calendar or anything scandalous like
that- so I daresay that a bold bright poppy red/ burnt 1960s orange
shirt will do little to enhance any natural attributes of my own but I
dig the bold patterns being driven hard in this particular outfit as
well as simple leather black boots added as the finishing touches. I’m
sure mum or dad would probably comment on the shirt at least in that
they had something similar when they were in the 1970s or whatever and
I’ll howl with pain because I can’t find any of these outstanding era
pieces in their wardrobes now and possibly justify the purchase of a
very expensive new floral shirt. I most commonly wear floral prints with
plain skinny jeans which I am considering turfing from my plain of
existence since they are almost as bad as a hooded jumper- I can’t tear
myself from wearing it them over and over again. At least with flare
pants and leggings it challenges people’s perceptions of what is cool
and what the young kids are into (despite the fact I’m turning twenty
next year- oh gosh where are my false teeth and walking stick…).

I’m digging the
whole knitter hot pants/ knitted skirt phenomena gripping the fashion
world at the moment simply because it encapsulates everything I guess
developing countries hate about the first world: decadence and something
totally impractical but whatever these people run under the license of
art and stuff and they don’t need no rulebook to apply themselves to or
follow. This skirt in particular has a colour scheme and stripe
thickness that reminds me of a friend’s sombrero. Odd thing to say but a
lot of my friends work in a Mexican fast food restaurant and one even
went to far as to buy a taco costume so there’s a lot of free spirited
fun I sense in this skirt. I know I already lavished attention on the
mens’ selection and colours but this skirt may just be my favourite pick
from the ladies’ section given that Stolen Girlfriends Club aren’t
incredibly elusive to buy on the Internet and have moderate prices for
poor university students. Printed leggings could dress them up in Winter
and with that colour combination you may even get away with wearing
these to a beach party. Now that’s what I call value.

The campaign for
this collection was even more moody and youth centric than the runway
presentation with mean statement tattoos on male models, edgy acronym
slogans and loose black cardigans. You know me, I love things that are
different and make bold statements and for something as visually
pleasing in the form of local fashion that is a rare gem and something
worthy of praise and notoriety. Within this collection there’s such a
great focus on the model taking up the whole shot and I love the idea
that these photographs could have been taken anywhere the sun sets
visibly and the warm tones really did go nicely with bedraggled and
grizzly hair like a miniature Hagrid the gamekeeper of grounds and keys
at Hogwarts. You can’t tell from this shot alone but his hair is dipped
in bright blue as well making it even more dark and inky. It was a
worthwhile decision since it was far different from the colour palette
used within the collection itself and shifted the spotlight from fashion
being solely on females to a male perspective. It definitely worked in
the favour of this particular release campaign.

Basketball
singlets and anoraks? Yes please! I’ve been sorting through old clothes
and stuff to make way for a whole vintage wardrobe and of course I can’t
give away my old uniform because of the sentimental value to it but
what could I wear with it? That’s the great thing about blogging and the
Internet: if you can’t come up with an outfit solution someone else
will have and their only a click away from discovery. I’ve also been
thinking of a DIY solution to the plain anorak/ army jacket dilemma and I
think that my old singlet would look pretty rad with that article of
clothing with or without a white dusty desert for mood setting. I was
really blown away by the extent to which the collection was intertwined
with its background and story- I can’t wait to see this replace more
bland studio backdrops that add very little to the clothes themselves in
terms of character.

Imitating some of
the world’s prestigious designers Stolen Girlfriends Club have thought
to have the final seal of approval put on their shirts; in case you
missed it there’s a metal shield on the back of this particular floral
creation. The sad thing about having long hair is that it often drowns
out the glorious, finer details of dresses and tops but it does make for
a neat curtain when securing tied halter necks or whatever. As soon as I
master putting my hair into a beehive then I’ll be sure to show off
expensive and luxuriant details of tops like this or just show off more
colour in all its decadence.

Just when I
thought I had safely left the clutches of the humble sweatshirt to
something a bit more structure, silken and less slobbish (no offense)
this bad boy sucks me back in and I’m back on the saddle. I would
probably do many a bad and evil thing to fit snugly into that amazing
jumper but I’m still happy to scope out simple vintage cat designs from
another time and for a fraction of the price. I’m getting better at
enforcing my policy of “only buy it at a big price if it’s one of a
kind” and fighting temptation that the fashion world so often presents
to me but I am very tempted to make an exception for this devilishly
good piece. I could wear it to work, wear it to a rock concert and at
one stage I would even try and wear it as pyjamas because I can tell I
would want it everywhere with me but at the same time a harsh Australian
Summer lends very little opportunities to do so. I liked it better when
the weather was cold and I could layer to my heart’s content rather
than having the sanction of practicality imposed on my style and outfit
posts once more.

The New Zealand
team cleverly used neon signs to address the title of the collection and
the minimal coverage of the garments- the garments have that simplistic
and minimalist feel but there is an underground grittiness I can feed
off of when viewing anoraks as well as combat boots more suited to youth
in England. All in all, I loved the collection and just about
everything involved. Surprisingly the models were brilliant, the runway
and photo shoot both had this personal but night club/ after party vibe
to it and there was a great unity amongst every component. I haven’t
seen that in any collection that I can remember and that was the big
clincher: seeing something so well thought out gives me motivation to
get my life sorted in aesthetic beauty but since that would be an
ongoing project I daresay it’s a bit more complicated…